The present application is directed to a tooling system and method of providing power to one or more tools while they are not in use and, more particularly, to providing power to the tools after detachment from a robotic device.
Robotic devices are often used for performing various assembly operations in a manufacturing process. One example includes an assembly line for manufacturing automobiles. Multiple robotic devices are aligned along an assembly line along which the work pieces progress. Each robotic device is configured to use multiple tools for performing a variety of operations on the work pieces. This may include the robotic devices using a first set of one or more tools to perform a first set of operations on the work piece, and also using a second set of tools to perform additional operations on the work piece. The robotic devices are configured to attach and detach from the tool sets to perform the various operations.
Assembly lines are configured to perform a maximum amount of assembly work in a minimum amount of time. Therefore, the ability of the robotic devices to quickly change tool sets and for the tools to be responsive to the attachment/detachment to begin operations contributes to fast production times. Existing systems are often configured such that the changing of tool sets incurs time delays in the ability of the robotic devices to perform the various operations.
One particular delay is the time necessary for the tools to re-activate with the assembly system after they are reattached to the robotic device. This may occur when the tool set is not powered during detachment from the robotic device. When the tool set is reattached to the robotic device and receives power through the attachment, it is necessary for the tools to re-activate with the system. This reactivation process takes time during which the tools are non-operational and cannot be used in the assembly process. Only after the tools have been re-activated may they be used in the process. For an assembly system that may include numerous tool set changes per work piece, and may operate on numerous work pieces during a day, the accumulation of the delays becomes excessive and greatly decreases the efficiency of the system.
Therefore, there is a need for devices and methods to reduce the amount of time necessary to activate tools after being attached to a robotic device.